Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-01

having e4s..:ou tne heavenly brow Of per1p1rar
tiou, but leaving IT. fewer unahatsd.
The city was dessrtsd The few who ~
mainsd apparently buried themsslvn from
ths garish light Of day IN some dim, cloistsred
recess Of shop, h0tsl o. restaurant, and the
psrspiring stranger, dassd by ths outer glars,
who broke in upon thsir quist, ssqusatsrsd ~
poss, confronted collarlsa and coatle9 gpsc-
ter1 Of the past, with fans IN thsir hand, who,
altar drsamily going through sums psrfunct-
ory businss, immediately retired toslesp sfter
tho stranger bad gona Congrsanen and
senators had long sinos returned to thsir ssv-
sral constituencies, with ths various informa-
tion that the country va going TO ruin. or
that the outlook never was moro hopsful and
cheering, - The tasts of their coustitusncy
Indicated. A few cahinet o6acers stin fingered,
having by this time become convinced that
thsy could do nothing their own way, o. indeed
many way but the old way, ard getting gloom
ny resigned to their situation A body Of
learned, cultivated men, repressnting tho
highest legal tribunal IN tie land, still
fingered In . vague idse Of earning ths scant
salary bestowed upon them BY tie economical
founders Of the government, and listened
patiently to the arguments Of counsel, whsss
fees for advocacy Of claims before them
would have paid the Life income Of half the
bench. There was M. Attorney General
and his assistants still protecting the govern
msnt's millions from rapacious hands, and
drawing the yearly public pittancs that their
wealthier private antagonists would have
scarce given - . retainer to their Junior
counsel. The little standing army Of de-
partmental employes-the helpless victims Of
the most ssnselea and idiotic form Of disci-
pline the world has known-a discipline -
made up Of caprice, expediency, cowardics
and tyranny that its reform meant rsvolu-
ton, not to b tolerated by legislators and
lawgivers, or despotim IN which half .
dossn accidentally y-chossn men interpreted
their prejudices Of preference - being that
reform. Administration after administra-
tion and party after party bad persisted in
their desperate attempts to at the youthful
colonial garments, made by our fathers after
by-gone fashion, over the expanded limits
and generous outline Of matured nation.
There were patches here and there; there
were grievous rents and holes here and there;
there were ludicrous and painful exposures Of
growing limbs everywhere; ard the party In
power and the party out Of power could do
nothing but mend and patch, and revamp
and cleanse and scour, and occasionally, in
The wHdnes Of despair, suggest even the cut
ting of the rebellious limbs that persisted In
growing beyond the swaddling clothes Of ii
infancy.
It was q capital Of contradictions and In
consistencies At one end Of the avenue nj
The responsible high keeper Of the military
honor, valor and warlike prestige Of . great
nation, without the power to pay his own
troops their legal dues until soms selnah
quarrel between party and party was settled
Hard by sat another secrstary, who's sstab-
Nshed functions seemed to Be the mireprs-
sentation Of tho nation abroad BY the lest
characteristic Of it, Glasses, tho politicians
and only then when thsy had been defeated
- spoliticians, and when their constituents had
declared them no longer worthy to be even
their representatives The national absurdity
was only equaled by another, wherein an ex-
politician was for four years expected to up
hold the honor Of Dag Of great nation
over IN ocean be had never tempted, with
discipline the rudiments Of which be could
scarcely acquire bsfors be was removed, or
his term Of Office expired. receiving his orders
from superior officer a. ignorant Of his
special duties - himself, and subjected to the
revision Of congress cognixant Of him only
a. politician. At the further end Of the
avenue was another department 90 vast In it,
extent and 20 varied In its functions that few
Of the really great practical workers Of tho
land would have accepted it, responsibility
for ten times its salary, but which the most
perfect constitution in the world handed over
to men who were obliged to make II step
ping stone to future prefarment There was
another department, more suggestive Of it,
financial functions from the occadonal az
travagances or economies exhibited in it, pay
rolls successive congrcmes having taken other
matters out Of it, hands-presided over by an
Official who bore the title and rsspondbility
of the custodian and disburser Of the nations
purse, and received a salary that bank
president would have mifed at For It was
part Of this constitutional inconsistency and
administrative absurdity that in the matter
of honor, justice, fidelity to trust and even
business integrity, the official was always ex-
pected to be the superior Of the government
he represented Yet the browning inconsist-
ency was that, from time to time, IT was sub
mitted to the sovereign people to declare II
these various inconsistencies were not really
the perfect expression Of the most perfect
government the world had known. And 1t
is to he recorded that the unanimous voices Of
representative, orator and unfettered poetry
were that it wasl
Even the public press lent itself to the great
inconsistency 1t was as clear a. crystd to
the journal on one side Of the avenue that the
country was going to the dogs unless the
spirit Of the fathers once more terminated
the public; it was equally clear to the journal
on the other side of the avenue that only q
rigid adherence to the letter Of the fathers
would save the nation from decline. 1t was
obvious to the first named Journal that the
1letter" meant government patronage to the
other journal; it was potent to that Journal
that the @shekels" Of Senator x really ami
mated the spirit of the fathers. Yet all
agreed that it was great and good and per-
feet government subject only to the preda-
tory incursions Of hydra-headed monster
known as "ring." The rings origin was
wrapped in secrecy, its fecundity was alarm
ing; but although it's rapacity was pretle-